Families know Tiki's, a locally-owned restaurant started by three University of Hawai‘i graduates, for its award-winning keiki menu and dishes that showcase local flavors for locals and visitors alike. But Nasuti grew up in Massachusetts in an Italian-American family where, he told the kids, the idea of getting tomato sauce from a jar would have been reason for punishment. He got his start washing dishes at the age of 13 and, by 17, was the kitchen manager of a classical Northern Italian restaurant. So he knows his pasta.

And he knows how to make kid pleasers. First, he walked families through the simple steps to a homemade marinara sauce, then he created spaghetti tacos–a dish introduced to him by his niece–and topped the entire workshop off with handmade chocolate fettucine with all the sundae-like fixings.

What was the verdict? Not a single spaghetti taco was left standing. Some kids had two, in fact. As for the chocolate pasta with fun topping such as marshmallow fluff and Kula strawberries, even the adults couldnʻt, or, refused to, put it down.

Marinara Sauce

Nasuti says his mother used to make batches of marinara sauce as the tomato season was ending and freeze it to use through the winter.

Chef tip: San Marzano tomatoes, a type of plum tomato, are Nasutiʻs pick for their sweeter, less acidic flavor.

Ingredients:

2 cups olive oil

12 cloves garlic, chopped

1 onion, peeled and rough chopped

3 shallots, sliced

1 small can tomato paste

2 cups red wine

4 28-ounce cans of San Marzano tomatoes, peeled

1 tablespoon dried thyme

A big handful of basil leaves

1 tablespoon dried oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat oil and add onion, garlic and shallots.

Cook until garlic turns light golden brown.

Stir in tomato paste and cook.

Add wine and deglaze, cooking until the liquid reduces by half.

Add canned tomatoes and dry herbs.

Bring to a boil, then simmer and add the basil leaves.

Simmer, uncovered, for one hour.

Salt and pepper to taste.

*Parent tip: If you canʻt simmer for an hour, add some sugar to reduce the acidity of the sauce.

Put the flour, cocoa, sugar and a pinch of salt on a clean wood or marble work surface. Mix with a fork.

Form the dough into a circle and make a well in the middle. Break eggs into the well.

Using the fork, gradually pull the flour mixture into the well. Mix and scrape in a circular motion.

Once flour is incorporated, sprinkle the mixture with a little water.

The dough should be crumbly. Gather it into a ball.

Sprinkle your work surface with flour and knead the dough for 10 minutes.

To knead, set the dough in the center of the surface and push the heel of your right hand into the dough, then press it away from you. Turn the dough a quarter turn and repeat until dough is smooth and satiny.

Cover the dough. Let it rest for 30 minutes.

Roll dough through a pasta machine, following the instructions for fettucine.

Blend frozen raspberries in a blender with enough simple syrup to liquefy. Strain out the seeds.

HONOLULU Family's Keiki in the Kitchen program offers parents and kids a hands-on cooking workshop led by some of Honoluluʻs top chefs. It is in partnership with the Hawai‘i Childrenʻs Discovery Center.

Our next workshop, sponsored by HFM FoodService, was on November 9 with chef Michelle Karr-Ueoka of MW Restaurant. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to be the first to know when more workshops are offered.